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Gayton Thorpe is the most southerly of a chain of Roman villas extending north along the Icknield Way. A total of ten villas are presently known spaced approximately every 1.5 miles and terminating at Snettisham. Although, some excavations have taken place on these villas, records are very scant and incomplete. The Roman villa at Gayton Thorpe was first noted in 1906, however, it was not until 1922 after deep ploughing brought to the surface large amounts of tesserae and building material that Mr W. Charlton commenced excavation. However, due to his sudden death, work was halted until 1923 when Donald Atkinson re-commenced work.
The 1923 Excavations
This villa remains
one of only a few Roman rural masonry buildings in Norfolk that
have been excavated and that has a complete plan of the main
range of buildings. However, even in 1923, Atkinson was
employing antiquated excavation and recording techniques,
somewhat reminiscent of Victorian excavations at Silchester
Villa range (after
Atkinson 1929) Other buildings, southern being a possible
bath-house from aerial photography. For more details of previous fieldwork on this site - please click here. The North Block of the villa was a two-winged corridor design with a central mosaic floor, a possible bath complex in the north wing and evidence of a demolished hypocaust in the south wing. The South Block, which was on a slightly different alignment and was of a simpler design. A small mosaic was found in one of the north rooms and a veranda was also evident on its east side. The two blocks were subsequently joined by a small corridor. These two buildings are hereafter referred to as ‘North Block’ and ‘South Block’ While researching the site (de Bootman 2001) found that the records from the excavation together with the finds assemblage had been lost. Although it is not known for how long Mr W. Charlton had been excavating before his death, Atkinson did note the rooms that Charlton uncovered (Atkinson 1929, 168) The excavation directed by Atkinson lasted for one month during March/April 1923. Even for his day this was a woefully inadequate timescale for the excavation and interpretation of these buildings. The Gayton Thorpe Roman Villa is situated at TF 7350 1810 (HER No. 3743, Ancient Monument No. 171A) approximately one mile south of the suggested Roman road running between Brisley and Terrington St. Clements (Bagshaw 1977) and four miles west of the Peddars Way. The site is bounded on the east by the B1153 (Icknield Way) and by a small lane leading to East Winch on the north. It lies at the junction of the Lower Chalk with the Gault Clay, on a slight natural rise, 500m from a tributary of the River Nar and 90m north of a small stream which rises at a spring near the parish church. Atkinson, D., 1929 ‘The Roman Villa at Gayton Thorpe’. NorfolkArchaeology XXIII, 166-209. |
